This is a guest post written by my lovely sister, Katie, who blogs over at Mummy’s Diary.
Hay-on-Wye is certainly a town like no other. It is on the border between England and Wales and is home to the ever popular annual Book Festival. It is easily accessible by car and public transport, with plenty of car parking available around the town.
My husband and I had a rare day to ourselves, and we were contemplating on where we should go. We chose Hay-on-Wye as my husband is a teeny bit obsessed with books! Whenever we go out anywhere he has to pop into the local charity shops to see what books they have! As they’re usually 3 for £1, it’s fair to say he has quite a good collection now.
We headed out mid-morning and arrived about an hour and a half later. This was a little longer than we had expected, but then again we did cruise through the Brecon Beacons on our way admiring the scenery and spectacular views.
On arrival we easily found a car park as they are well signposted and it was only a few minutes’ walk into the town centre. One thing I will mention is that after a long car journey, if you do find yourself needing to use the facilities make sure you have a couple of 20 pence pieces on you, as the toilets are barrier operated.
Straight away I noticed just how quaint Hay-on-Wye is. It has lots of pretty and quirky buildings and shops. The streets are quite narrow and it was quite busy when we visited so it’s best to visit for a leisurely stroll.
I have never visited anywhere before where 95% of the stores are book shops. Some were selling new books and others were selling second hand ones. There is a wide variety to choose from.
If you stick to the main streets most of the shops are small to medium in size, however just outside the main streets if you wander around to Castle Street you will find Hay Cinema Bookshop. This book shop is probably one of the most organised book shops I have seen as well as the largest! It just keeps on going! There are rows and rows of books all categorised into multiple genres. From children’s, art, history to fiction, gardening and cookery. You are bound to find something, or like us a handful of books to buy!
Our favourite place however has to be the honesty book shop. This is just inside the grounds to the castle. As we walked in we were in awe.
On either wall there’s a huge bookshelf filled to the brim, and at the back of the court yard is a little sign scratched into the wood that reads “Please pay in box, books £1 each”. How amazing is that!
We found some wonderful books here including one we picked up for our daughter naming over 80 breeds of horses and a book of how to care for your horse. She is only 6, but has horse riding lessons and is obsessed with them. She certainly loves her books too! She reads them in her room at bedtime. It’s quite sweet.
Whilst we were there I also picked up Jayne Eyre, and War and Peace for my sister who is also a big book lover.
After we were shopped out we headed for a little wander down by the river and found a little café for food. If you’re not really into books and are worried about visiting Hay-on-Wye with a book loving companion, you can stop worrying right now! I don’t read books at all, but I loved our visit to Hay-on-Wye. It really is a place quite like no other!
